A/N: While Dick is attending to his annual trip to the circus, Tim disobeys and follows him, getting into major trouble on two fronts. Without realizing, by revealing that Tim is his biological brother, Dick has placed Tim in grave danger from a source they have dealt with before. Will Dick be the last Flying Grayson, again?

A Circus Boy Returns Home

Part 9: The Shunning of Little Brother

The next day, Tim woke up to the sound of activity. He felt stiff from having slept on something hard, but at the same time, he felt the weight of a blanket covering him and its warmth felt wonderful. Someone must have checked on him last night and covered him with a blanket. He didn't even hear the sound of the car door opening. The morning was clear and bright, and with the rising of the sun, the car was beginning to heat up. Tim sat up and opened the door and exited the car. He decided to leave his backpack and get some breakfast. He noticed people were gathering in a large tent off to the side of the Big Top. Tim headed in that direction.

Along the way, he heard the sounds of the Midway, of rides being tested and music being played. They must be preparing to open up. Tim could not help thinking about the first time he ever came to the circus. It was colorful and bright and different than anything he had experienced before in his young life.

'That was before my Mom discovered I wasn't her child,' Tim thought.

Tim often thought about running away to the circus to find Dick Grayson, but then he remembered that Dick Grayson wasn't with the circus anymore. Bruce Wayne had taken Dick in to be his ward. Tim remembered one other time he met Dick. That was at a gala that oddly enough had been hosted by his parents at a house that happened to be next door to Wayne Manor. He didn't recall whether Dick had remembered meeting him or not. It's possible he had remembered that second meeting wrong. He might have seen him in the house, but his parents hadn't introduced him then. In fact, that was soon after he learned that Janet Drake wasn't his mother. Tim clearly remembered his mother sternly telling him that he could not come downstairs to mingle with the guests. He was to keep out of sight, but Tim could not resist peeking his head out of the door to his bedroom for that evening and hearing the familiar voice of Dick Grayson of the Flying Graysons. It was odd, because he didn't hear his parents' voices, but a stranger's voice introducing them to the group of people. Tim. Recalled the event and remembered his parents had hired a butler, several servers, and a chef for the evening. Not long after Bruce and Dick arrived, chaos ensued as four masked men with guns entered, demanding everyone to give them their wallets and jewelry. Tim had scrambled away from the railing so the four men would not spot him. He ran into his room and shut the door. It was two hours later after he had fallen asleep that his father came in, picked him up, and they returned home.

Tim also remembered his parents arguing, and hearing the names Batman and Robin, and Dick Grayson and Bruce Wayne all in the same conversation. It got him thinking, but even Tim dismissed that they could be the caped crusader and his junior partner, at first. Tim's Mom didn't like the pair, thinking they were no different than the thugs that tried to rob them. She alluded to someone called the Talon, that he was the only one granted the right to protect Gotham and their interests. Tim's Dad on the other hand was different. He was supportive of Batman and Robin because they stopped the robbers. They were able to recover the money that had been raised for charity and the personal property of the attendees.

Tim was thinking of those things when he entered the cafeteria tent and he spotted Dick getting breakfast. Tim walked over to greet him.

"Hi," Tim started out. "Look, I need to explain . . . "

Tim was shocked when Dick took his tray of food and walked right past him. Tim watched with his mouth open when Dick sat down among the other performers and started chatting.

'He ignored me,' Tim thought. 'Why would he ignore me like that? Was he still angry with me?'

Tim felt his heart sink into the pit of his stomach. He was about to leave the cafeteria tent when someone else got his attention.

'Kid," the roustabout called him over. "This is the time to eat. I've got several jobs for you."

Tim sighed, grabbed a plate with a small amount of fruit. Some toast with butter, and some milk. That snub caused him to lose his appetite. He grabbed a fork and carried his plate to an empty table on the opposite side of the tent. He wasn't aware that his brother looked over toward him, but then turned back. Tim ate his meager meal then met the other roustabouts to get his assignments. Some were to check the equipment, like the lighting, repair anything that might have gotten broken, paint something that needed painting, and then when it came to Tim it seemed he was given the worse jobs imaginable. He was required to take out the trash and put knew trash bags into the metal drums that were being used as trash cans. Not only that, the man told him to check the port-a-potties and add toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and stuff for dissolving the waste in each tank. If any of the port-a-potties were too full, he was to lock them with a padlock, and tell the head roustabout so they could be replaced. He needed to make sure all of it got done before the Midway was to open up at ten in the morning, and it was already eight.

Tim sighed, and did what was required. When lunch came, the day was turning into a scorcher. Tim didn't even have a hat to protect his head from the heat, and once again, he was expected to take out the trash. He hadn't eaten since breakfast, and with the heat bearing down on him, his appetite just wasn't there. His head was starting to hurt. He stopped briefly in a darkened carnival tent to cool himself off.

"Would you like your fortune read?" a familiar woman's voice said.

Tim's face paled, and he quickly left the tent. Once he got done with the rest of the trashcans, Tim's skin was hot and dry, and his head was swimming. He needed water and something to stop the pounding in his head. Before he knew it, the ground was coming up to meet him.

"Uhh."

"Take it easy young man," an unfamiliar voice stated as Tim came to. "You passed out from heat exhaustion."

"Huh? Heat exhaustion?"

"I'm the doctor here at the circus. My name is John Watson."

"I'm Tim."

"No last name?"

"Seems like I don't have one right now."

The doctor's lips were pursed. "That seems to be a common theme. People who join the circus want to be anonymous, but eventually, they get sick and I need a medical file on them. So, I highly recommend you tell me who you are, so I don't have to hunt that down, that way I know how to treat you."

"It's Timothy Jackson Drake-Wayne."

"Well, a hyphenated name. Since, my computer does have wifi, even out here, I can hook into the universal medical database. Let's see what we have." Doctor Watson typed in Tim's full name. "Well, this is interesting. Seems there is a Timothy Jackson Grayson-Drake-Wayne. That wouldn't be you, would it?" The doctor actually had a picture of the patient, but he wanted Tim to confirm who he was.

"Yeah," Tim said reluctantly.

"You're not related to Richard John Grayson, are you? You can't be from the same tree branch?"

"Um, I am."

"And how are you related?" Doctor Watson asked. "Your medical file doesn't tell how you are related, if you even are."

"Richard Grayson is my biological brother."

The doctor's eyes went wide. "I was told that Richard Grayson didn't have any siblings."

"We were keeping it secret. We found out last year."

"I will update this file then. I want you to take it easy for the rest of the day. Heat exhaustion should not be toyed with."

"The roustabout that gives me my assignments, he's not going to like it."

"What jobs has he been giving you?"

Tim told Doctor Watson, and the doctor frowned. "Those are some of the worst jobs. You should not be doing those. I'll speak with the roustabout."

"Okay."

"Now, that saline should get you through for at least the first hour. Get some sleep while you're here. I'll get you some lemonade and some crackers from the cafeteria tent. That should help your stomach. You should be hungry by the evening. This hot weather should break, hopefully overnight, but if it doesn't, stay in the shade as much as possible. And get a hat. You can get one from one of the vendors. That should protect your head from the sun."

Tim closed his eyes, but his mind wandered. He wanted to know who carried him to the medical tent? He wouldn't get his answer just then. His eyelids closed and he fell asleep. When he woke up again, the saline bag was gone from his arm, and there was a glass of lemonade, and a bowl of various types of crackers by his bedside. Some were simple saltines, others were graham crackers, and some were animal crackers. The doctor probably thought he was a young teen.

'He probably didn't notice the wedding ring on my finger," Tim thought, but when he looked at his hand, his wedding ring was gone. 'No, what happened to it? I couldn't have lost it.'

That was another thing that Tim had to deal with. First the fact that his brother had ignored him, shunned him really. Then the roustabout was giving him the worse jobs, and he passed out due to the heat. Now this.

'Maybe Dick was right,' Tim thought. 'Maybe I should have stayed home.' Tim stared at the bowl of crackers. 'I've got to eat something, at least.' Tim took one of the saltines and then took a sip of the lemonade. That did help his body feel better. It contained the necessary electrolytes his body needed. He took another cracker, and before he knew it, he had eaten the whole bowl, his strength returning, if not his spirits. After the doctor checked him one more time, Tim left the medical tent.

Tim heard the sounds coming from the big top and realized that the afternoon performance must have started at some point. He had been asleep in the medical tent for hours. Tim didn't feel like watching the performance, and the doctor said he needed to take it easy from the heat. The only place he could go back to was his car and that was probably broiling hot. Tim opt for finding the vendor that sold hats. He found the booth and selected one that would suit him to protect his head from the sun. He decided to walk around for a little while longer, but soon he was tiring, again. The heat was just too much. He needed a place to cool down, and that meant going back to the big top. Maybe he could hide under the bleachers where it was the coolest. Before Tim could even head there, once again the roustabout approached him, and handed him his stick, trash bags, and lost and found collection bag. So much for taking the rest of the day off.

Continued with Part 10